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| “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” |
| —James 1:22 |
What if the captain of a ship was given a detailed set of carefully devised marine charts for every bit of ocean and every port along the course he or she was to sail. But instead of studying those charts, the captain put them on a shelf and never even opened them. What possible good would those charts serve, especially if the captain got into trouble along the way?
Some believers in the Lord Jesus Christ treat God’s Word, the Bible, that way. They never set aside time to open God’s Word, read it, study it, and then meditate on what it says.
When problems suddenly arise in their lives, these dear ones have nothing to turn to for help. Their unfamiliarity with the instruction God has given means they will often continue to sail further into troubled waters.
They might say, “Hey! I listen to the sermon or homily when I go to church. I hear the Scriptures when someone reads them aloud.”
The Apostle James offers suitable commentary on this particular defense when he writes in James 1:22-25:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Let’s consciously immerse ourselves in God’s Word this day and allow the instruction it contains to chart the course of our days. The Holy Spirit longs to make God’s Word come alive in our hearts and minds and lives.
